14 DAY TRIAL // Between January 1, 2013 and July 31, 2013, the amount of malware on mobile devices went up by 30 percent, a recent report from Fortinet's FortiGuard Threat Landscape Research claims.
According to the study, over 1,300 new mobile malware samples are being seen every day, with the FortiGuard Labs team currently tracking more than 300 unique Android malware families and 250,000 unique malicious Android samples.
Furthermore, the company notes that Google’s Android operating system is targeted by most malicious software designed for mobile, and businesses that adopted BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) could suffer the most from this.
Before Android started to grow, the number of mobile malware was relatively small and mainly targeted at Nokia’s Symbian OS, which was leading the market at the time.
Furthermore, the company notes that most of the code came from Eastern Europe and China, markets where Symbian enjoyed the largest consumer base.
"Three years ago, mobile malware wasn't much of a concern for users or businesses. Most malware at the time targeting smartphones and tablets were nothing more than annoyware such as the Cabir virus or scam software used to commit SMS fraud or replace icons," said Axelle Apvrille, senior mobile anti-virus researcher for Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs.
"However, as devices have proliferated, so, too, have cybercriminals eager to capitalize on the growing user base, and our research shows the proliferation of mobile malware will not abate anytime soon."
In 2013, however, things are completely different, especially since Android has been adopted by a very large number of manufacturers out there, and smartphone shipments have grown significantly due to that.
With Android devices currently up for purchase in every market at different price tags, the number of applications for the platform increased as well, and cybercriminals have started to use the platform as their new business opportunity, the research firm notes.
Those of you interested in learning more on FortiGuard Labs’ findings should head over to this page on the company’s website to download the full report.